Stock Market & Financial Investment News

Online media firms look to take ads sales from TV, WSJ reportsIn May, TV executives traditionally spends several days talking up their new shows for advertisers. Now, a month earlier, online video firms will stage their own show in an attempt to attract advertisers, reports the Wall Street Journal. Reference Link

PayPal initiated with an Underweight at Piper JaffrayPiper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster started shares of PayPal (PYPL) with an Underweight rating saying increased competition could pressure the stock's multiple over the next 6-24 months. Underweight is Piper's equivalent of a sell rating. Google's (GOOG) Android Pay and Apple's (AAPL) Apple Pay will give consumers a "real alternative to PayPal" for the first time, Munster tells investors in a research note. In addition, interest in payments from Amazon.com (AMZN) and Facebook (FB) bring potential for more digital wallet offerings, the analyst notes. Munster set a $30 price target for PayPal, which began trading yesterday following a spinoff from parent company eBay (EBAY). Shares of the online payment system closed Monday up $2.08 to $40.47.

YouTube advertisers surge 40% over past year, FT reportsThe number of advertisers on Google's YouTube has increased more than 40% in the past year, the Financial Times reports. YouTube said that advertisers from the top 100 brands, ranked by Interbrand, were spending 60% more on advertising than last year, the report says. The website does not disclose revenue figures, but certain data show that it is benefiting from a surge in demand for digital video advertising as millennials spend more time on the site, the report says. Reference Link

Disney's 'Ant-Man' leads U.S. weekend box office with $58MFor the weekend of July 19, Disney's (DIS) "Ant-Man" topped domestic box office charts at $58M. Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) subsidiary Universal's "Minions" landed in second place with $50.2M, while Universal's "Trainwreck" came in third with $30.2M. Disney's "Inside Out" and Universal's "Jurassic World" took fourth and fifth place at $11.7M and $11.4M, respectively. Data gathered by Rentrak.